Sunday, February 5th, 2012

Made to Crave~Week 4, 2012

by Melissa Taylor

**Winner of An Untroubled Heart Give away is Kitty, who posted at 1:27 pm on Feb. 1st. Contact me at Melissa@MelissaTaylor.org or call me Monday at 877-731-4663 so I can get your contact info and mail you your book Congrats!

Wow. That’s all I can find to say. I cannot believe we are already into Week 4 of our study! 3 weeks down, 3 weeks to go. I hope that thought doesn’t scare you. I’ve heard from some that they are a little afraid that when this study is over, they will go back to their old habits and get sidetracked from their new mantra that “this time around will be different.” Now, now. That won’t happen without your permission. Don’t give permission.

Even though our study will wind down in 3 weeks, our healthy journey is just beginning. Remember the focus here is on growing closer to the Lord. While doing that, we have made new commitments that are good for our health and well being. If you’ve started your journey here, I hope you will stay with me so we can move to the next study together.

An Untroubled Heart, Finding a Faith That is Stronger Than All My Fears by Micca Campell will be our next online study. Through the study of this book, we will be encouraged to lay down our worries, trust in God, and embrace a life marked by peace and joy. Who doesn’t want this? I hope you will consider joining me. Sign ups for this study will begin in a few weeks, but you can order your book now if you’d like to participate.If you’d like to go ahead and order It’s No Secret, you can order it online at a variety of online venues or by calling the Proverbs 31 Office, 877-731-4663. Just like the MTC study, we will offer Conference Calls (again at the low $14 rate) and author Micca Campbell will play a key role in our online study as well as join us in one of the calls. I’ll add a sign up space for An Untroubled Heart very soon to my blog. I just couldn’t wait another day to let you know what was coming next! The An Untroubled Heart online study will begin March 18, 2011.

And now, on to Week 4 of Made to Crave!

Our word for the week is:

TRUTH

Memory Verse:

John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Who here doesn’t want to be free? Jesus Himself is this truth. He frees us from continued slavery to sin, from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. As we seek to serve to serve God, Jesus’ perfect truth frees us to be all that God meant us to be. (Life Application Study Bible) And He can even free us from our bondage to food or whatever else has a hold on us.

You May Want to Copy and Print the Rest of This Post

Reading and Homework Assignments for Week 4:

Sunday-Spend some time in prayer for yourself and your study sisters about Week 4. Share in the comment section of this blog or on the Online Bible Studies Facebook Page where discussions and prayer requests about Made to Crave are ongoing 24/7.

Monday-Read Chapter 10. Highlight and take notes as you read. When you get to a Bible verse that Lysa mentions, take our your Bible. Look up the verse for yourself. Underline it and write “MTC” beside it. Think on the verse or passage a moment. Journal or make a few index cards with Scripture or quotes that will keep you grounded and give you truth.

Tuesday-Complete Chapter 10 Reflection Questions. Read the questions and record your answers in a journal or notebook. Be honest. These are just for your eyes or whoever you choose to share them with. Share as much or as little as you like in the comments section of my blog or on the Online Bible Studies Facebook page.

Wednesday-Read Chapter 11. Follow the same directions as on Monday. Check Melissa’s blog for an encouraging mid-week message! Post a comment to encourage others.

Thursday-Complete Chapter 11 Reflection Questions. Follow the same directions as on Tuesday. Share as much or as little as you like in the comments section of my blog or on the Online Bible Studies Facebook page.

Friday-Read Chapter 12. Follow the same instructions as Monday and Wednesday.

Friday Vlog!!! This is your lucky week! You get a video message from Stephanie Clayton today!

Friday Option: If you want to have all your work done before the weekend, go ahead and complete the Chapter 12 Reflection Questions. Follow the same instructions as Monday and Wednesday.

Saturday Option-If you didn’t do the Chapter 12 Reflection Questions on Friday, do them today.

Okay, that’s it! Print or “favorite” this page so you can keep up with this week’s study. I won’t be posting the schedule daily, so hold on to this!

EMPOWERED~DETERMINATION~PEACE~TRUTH

Remember, you have access to all four. You got da POWAHHH! Be DETERMINED to stay committed. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. And discover your peace in God, because I guarantee you won’t find it anywhere else. The TRUTH of Jesus Christ will set you free!

Have a great week! Keep believing this time will be different! And indeed it will. Have a great week MTC gals! I <3 U!

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Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Peace

by Melissa Taylor

Confession: This week’s word of the week is a struggle for me. I believe the word of God and I believe that peace is possible. It is one of the toughest things for me to apply.

I have high anxiety. There are times my insides feel like they are all being shook up and will spill out of my mouth any second. I grind my teeth without realizing it. I have to take deep breaths. Usually there is a trigger. An unsettling situation. Conflict. Rejection. The mention of someone’s name. Fear. Loss. Change. Chaos. Not letting go. Lack of resolution.

God’s perspective on peace has helped me more than anything. God’s Word ministers to my heart and soul and mind. It’s in His Word that I am able to adjust my choices and change my thoughts. This week’s memory verse is one of my favorites.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”~ Philippians 4:6-7

And if you keep reading, Verse 9 says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Do you see that word practice? That tells me that God knows, we might not get it the first time (or second, third, fourth~haha). It takes practice. “And the God of peace will be with you.”

We first have to recognize we don’t begin with peace. We begin by talking to the Lord. Thanking Him. Giving Him our requests. Then the peace follows. There is an action on our part~going to God. Stop in the midst of our unsettledness and go to Him.

Speaking of peace…from the vlog, you will see that it’s hard to come by in my home! My house had been quiet and peaceful until I pressed the “record” button…amazingly I got through it. And here ya go, a little message from me for you. <3

**If you cannot view the video above, click here .
See what I mean? Dogs, children, my husband…geez! Crazy, but I’m not complaining. I love it! Hopefully you heard my message in all this.

Friends, you brighten my days. Your comments touch me, encourage me and really give me blessings right when I need them. Thank you. Doing life with you is one of the highlights of my life. Thank you for your time, friendship, and commitment to this study. Our Online Bible Studies Team and I are so blessed by you. We <3 You!

Big Blessings! Have a great weekend!

To leave a comment click here.

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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

I Need Faith Stronger Than My Fears

by Melissa Taylor

If you are visiting from the Proverbs 31 Daily Devotion, welcome. I’m so happy to have you stop by my blog today for two reasons. First of all, I love community and that’s what we have here. Second, I have a fantastic give-away that I’ll tell you about in just a minute.

If you have visited my blog before, you may have recognized the devotion today. I actually wrote it as a blog post a little while back. Even though I wrote it with the intent of inspiring readers, I actually needed it myself at the time.

Attack and opposition are a part of life. We all are subject to them at any time. If we are already feeling down, rejected, weak, busy, fearful, discouraged, stressed or like life is throwing us some major curve balls, well then we are prime targets and stand ready to fall prey…unless we are armored and ready.

I have learned this over and over, yet I still fight it. It’s my natural tendency to entertain the blues first first, invite sadness to join us and then have a few other of her friends like insecurity and unlovable come along. What we have here is a great party. A pity party with me as the center. A pity party that allows fear to be the leader so that I will stay there. Not good. And not the way God wants me or you to live. We aren’t to be ruled by fear, but by our faith. The way to get there is through the Word of God.

I hope the “beyond” statements (from today’s devotion) that provided God’s Word in backing them up helped you like they did me the day I found them. I searched for them. It took me hours, but it was worth it. I replaced every bad feeling I had with a Truth from God’s Word and let me tell you, by the end of doing this, my pity party turned into a celebration of God’s amazing love for me. Reading God’s Word and claiming it, and praying it, is life giving.

Here’s the ugly truth. At times, we will be hurt, confused, stressed, tired, depressed, and maybe even ready to give up due to life, but we aren’t made to stay there. We have the power of God and His Word to bring us from fear to faith.

An Untroubled Heart, Finding a Faith That is Stronger Than All My Fears by Micca Campell deals with just this and that is why I selected it as my next Online Bible Study. Through the study of this book, we will be encouraged to lay down our worries, trust in God, and embrace a life marked by peace and joy. Who doesn’t want this? I hope you will consider joining me. Sign ups for this study will begin in a few weeks, but you can order your book now if you’d like to participate.

Ok, it’s fun time! Time to give away this awesome book I’m telling you about. Leave a comment by Thursday at 9 pm EST and you will be entered. I’ll announce the winner on Friday here on this blog.

I’m praying that today your faith is stronger than your fears and your “beyond” statements about yourself are defined by the Lord and nothing else.

Love and Blessings~

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Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

Just Checkin’ In…

by Melissa Taylor

Hey Y’all! Hope your week has gotten off to a great start.

Are you believing that you were MADE FOR MORE? I happen to know that some of you are and there are many of you who are struggling also. Let me speak to the strugglers.

I know some of you are feeling a little discouraged. If this is you, let me tell you what I told the ladies on the conference call last night.

~“Anytime God starts a movement, the enemy starts opposition.” ~Steven Furtick, Sun Stand Still

~“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ~ Jesus, John 10:10

So basically, find some comfort in your struggles. We have an enemy who does not want you to succeed and will use your weaknesses and thoughts to bring you down. That is not the voice of God. Because you are striving to find your identity in Christ alone, to meet your needs with God and not __________, you will encounter opposition. I want to encourage you to hang on, don’t quit, don’t give up. We got this! Why? Because we have God Almighty on our side. Do not allow a setback, a relapse, a person, your health, failure, your past, being behind in this study, doubt, discouragement, or any other obstacle keep you from believing that this time is different. Talk to Jesus often. Go to the Verses by Chapter on p. 195 and the Healthy Eating Go-To Scripts on p. 215 of MTC. Pray. Ask someone to pray for you, with you. Comment here on this blog. There has been so much encouragement here, I love that.

How are you doing?

If you are down, just don’t stay there. No pity parties! “Turn your pity into purpose.” ~ Lysa TerKeurst

If you are feeling amazing, share the love sistas! Encourage the rest of us.

One more thing. I have a devotion running on Proverbs31.org tomorrow and right here on this blog I’ll be introducing our next study, An Untroubled Heart by Micca Campbell and giving away a copy of the book. The message in our next study is replacing our fear with faith. Sign ups for An Untroubled Heart will begin soon.

Ok, that’s it for now! Thank you for doing Bible study with me! I love our “group”….all 8900 of us!

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Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Made to Crave, 2012~Week 3

by Melissa Taylor

***Winner of the P31 Woman Magazine give away from Friday’s blog post is: Amber who posted January 28th at 1:22 pm! Amber, contact me Melissa@MelissaTaylor.org so I can get your information. Congratulations and thank you Heather for your awesome post and the magazine give away!

*Now on to Week 3 of MTC*

Made to Crave is the first of 4 or 5 Online Bible Studies I’ll be leading this year.

If you are interested in learning more about the Online Bible Studies, click here. All online Bible studies info can be found on that page.

If you’d like to read all the Made to Crave posts so far, look in the right side of this blog. Just below the Bible Study Sign Up, you will see the word “Categories”. Click the Made to Crave 2012 link below that. You can catch up on what we’ve been doing during the Made to Crave Online Bible Study.

Below you can see an example of how the study works online.

Nearly 9000 of us are growing closer to God each day through sharing life and doing Bible Study together! That is very exciting to me!

___________________________________________________________________

Sunday, January 29, 2011

Well, here we are at the beginning of Week 3 of our Made to Crave study. I hope that so far you have put a lot more thought and action into your relationship with the Lord. I know I keep saying it, but please don’t lose sight of this one thing: The #1 purpose of this study is to satisfy your deepest desire with God. This study isn’t magical. It’s not a quick fix. It’s not about how much you exercise or lose weight. Just take a quick glance at the chapter titles of this book. Go ahead. Do it now. Don’t you see by the names of the chapters alone that this journey isn’t an easy one. Obedience and discipline take hard work and commitment. I don’t say this to discourage you. I say this to affirm that you will have hard days and even weeks maybe. But in the end you will gain. And this time it won’t be pounds, it will be freedom, victory, courage, and a greater closeness with God. Nothing tastes as good at all that!

My friend Danita shared a song by Mercy Me with me last year during the study. Read these lyrics:

‘You were made for more than this…

You’re beautiful.

You are treasured.

You are loved.

You are His. ‘

Now listen to the song and watch this video. Prepare to be touched by God.

Visit the Made to Crave website to download and print the Fridge sign for week 3. This week’s word is:

PEACE

What a word. Seems I strive so hard for peace. Doesn’t that seem like a oxymoron? Striving for peace? Why is it that it’s so hard for us to obtain peace? Here’s what I think. It’s there for us, but we refuse it. We choose chaos over peace. We choose not to trust God with the details of our lives and therefore peace does not reign in us. I can say this, because I’ve been guilty of it many times. Too many times. God doesn’t want us to be in turmoil, no matter what our circumstances.

Memory Verse for Week 3

Philippians 4:6-8 says,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Look what peace does. It guards your heart and mind!!! Hello? That’s what we need to survive, protection over our hearts and minds. So, ladies, let’s accept the peace we are offered through Christ Jesus, okay?

You May Want to Copy and Print the Rest of This Post

Reading and Homework Assignments for Week 3:

Sunday-Spend some time in prayer for yourself and your study sisters about Week 3. Share in the comment section of this blog or on the new Online Bible Studies Facebook Page where discussions and prayer requests about Made to Crave are ongoing 24/7.

Monday-Read Chapter 7. Highlight and take notes as you read. When you get to a Bible verse that Lysa mentions, take our your Bible. Look up the verse for yourself. Underline it and write “MTC” beside it. Think on the verse or passage a moment. Journal or make a few index cards with Scripture or quotes that will keep you grounded and give you peace. ******Begin sending Melissa questions for the Friday (or Saturday) Vlog. Email them to Melissa@MelissaTaylor.org. *******I’m so sorry I haven’t vlogged yet! I’ve issues in the vlogging department. I will TRY to get it up this week. Please forgive the absence of the vlog so far! Life interrupts my plans, I know you understand that.

Monday- *January 30th, 8:00 pm EST, Real, fun, and fabulous, my good friend, DeAnnah Baker. DeAnnah joined us last year on the conference call series and we all fell in love with her. She has been my partner in crime in this journey we call weight loss…and gain….and loss….and gain….etc for years! We will be blessed by her honesty and her commitment to never give up on healthy living AND Stephanie Clayton! Stephanie is a professional counselor and also my partner in Online Bible Studies here at P31. Her insight and wisdom are just what we need! Plus she’s doing this with us, she gets it, but also has the psychological twist that may help us understand why we are the way we are. AND Associate Director of YMCA Camp Harrison, Founder of the Women’s Wellness Weekend, Denise Hammond. Denise was caught up for 14 years with an eating disorder that controlled her life. Her story of how God used her mess to bring life to her ministry will amaze and inspire you.

Tuesday-Complete Chapter 7 Reflection Questions. Read the questions and record your answers in a journal or notebook. Be honest. These are just for your eyes or whoever you choose to share them with. Share as much or as little as you like in the comments section of my blog or on the Online Bible Studies Facebook page.

Wednesday-Read Chapter 8. Follow the same directions as on Monday. Check Melissa’s blog for an encouraging mid-week message! Post a comment to encourage others.

Thursday-Complete Chapter 8 Reflection Questions. Follow the same directions as on Tuesday. Share as much or as little as you like in the comments section of my blog or on the Online Bible Studies Facebook page.

Friday-Read Chapter 9. Follow the same instructions as Monday and Wednesday.

Friday Vlog!!! Log on to this blog, www.MelissaTaylor.org. Watch a short video of me answering some of your questions from the week. (Sometimes this post may be on Saturday) ****Hopefully.

Friday Option: If you want to have all your work done before the weekend, go ahead and complete the Chapter 9 Reflection Questions. Follow the same instructions as Monday and Wednesday.

Saturday Option-If you didn’t do the Chapter 9 Reflection Questions on Friday, do them today.

Okay, that’s it! Print or “favorite” this page so you can keep up with this week’s study. I won’t be posting the schedule daily, so hold on to this!

EMPOWERED~DETERMINATION~PEACE

Remember, you have access to all three. You got da POWAHHH! Be DETERMINED to stay committed. Don’t give up. Don’t quit. And discover your PEACE in God, because I guarantee you won’t find it anywhere else.

Have a great week! Keep believing this time will be different!

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